In 2013, with the support of GGGI, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) approved a National Policy and Strategic Plan for Green Growth for the period 2013-2030. This plan aims to turn Cambodia into a green economy through the more effective use of natural resources, wider promotion of environmental sustainability, creating opportunities for green jobs and the adoption of green technologies, improving access to green finance and encouraging green investment.

The Sekong, Sesan and Sre Pok are transboundary tributaries of the Mekong River. The 3S basins, as they are collectively known, are richly endowed with natural resources and make an important contribution to national and regional development. However, there is a critical need to understand and respond to the risks inherent in the current "growth at all costs" paradigm. The purpose of the study is to improve the quality of planning and investment in the 3S region.

Many towns and cities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are facing increased vulnerability and exposure due to climate extremes combined with rapid and unplanned expansion of urban population and infrastructure. These towns are susceptible to flooding, drought, storms and other natural hazards, which are likely to become more frequent and more severe with climate change. This will negatively affect human settlements and economic activities in the region.

Held in Bangkok on 24-27 May 2016, the ‘SEA process, tools and lessons from the lower Mekong region energy sector’ workshop was organized by PACT Thailand as part of its Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Environment and Water Pillar Training Program (PTP). The workshop had two objectives:

About: Urban areas are recognised internationally as a critical component for realising green growth. Cities concentrate environmental issues from air and water pollution, solid waste and GHG emissions, and frequently face challenges posed by poor drainage, sanitation and flood control. Moreover, providing urban services and infrastructure offers opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of provision while increasing resilience and addressing social and economic development needs.

Lao PDR is among the least developed countries in the world and, according to IPPC findings, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Because of the region's high poverty rates and low development progress, livelihoods that are already affected by the impacts of existing climate variability become highly sensitive to climate change.

The Khone Falls fish pass study is the first of its kind in the Mekong region. For the most part, fish pass design has been based on studies conducted outside the Mekong region and with a focus on fish species not found in the Mekong River. The project aims to assess the swimming capabilities of migratory fish species in the Khone Falls to help design fish passes that are tailored to the needs and capabilities of Mekong fish species.

In 2014/2015, ICEM conducted a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) of the proposed Nam Ngiep Hydropower 1 Project (NNP1) in Lao PDR. The overall objective of the study was to assess the climate risk of the proposed Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project (NNP1) in Lao PDR, and to identify measures to increase its climate resilience.

Natural systems are the essential foundation for Mekong town development and rehabilitation. The Resource Kit for Building Resilience and Sustainability in Mekong Towns is a seven-volume kit that promotes the maintenance and use of natural systems as a key strategy for building sustainability and resilience in urban areas.
Prepared for the Asian Development Bank by ICEM as part of the award-winning TA 8186, the resource kit is built on the experience and expertise of a wide variety of professionals from the Mekong region and abroad.

This informational poster was developed as part of the Myanmar Healthy Rivers Initiative to give an overview of the project objectives, outputs, and monitoring. It was presented at the WLE Myanmar Project Launch in March 2015.
> Visit the Myanmar Healthy Rivers Initiative project page for more information.

About: The Salween River lies at the cross roads of Asia linking South and Southeast Asia with Tibetan Plateau and providing a home and well-being to more than 13 distinct ethnic groups and 10 million people. As Myanmar develops, the relationship between the river’s stakeholders and the underlying biophysical system changes. New stakeholders are emerging with new values and needs and are placing new demands and pressures on the river and the health of the system. In this context, efforts to understand the health of river ecosystems and the values which different stakeholders ascribe to the goods and services derived from the river system will help set a benchmark of how development decisions at the national, provincial and local level will impact on different user groups.

ICEM conducted this strategic environmental assessment (SEA) with the MARD Directorate of Forestry and the World Bank within the framework of negotiations on a Public Investment Reform Development Policy Loan between the World Bank and the Government of Vietnam.
The SEA offers a rapid assessment of three Provincial Forest Protection and Development Plans (FPDPs) and provides guidance for the development of the National Forestry Master Plan 2010–2020 and wider decision making in the forestry sector in Vietnam.

About: Action to tackle climate change in Cambodia is crucial. Cambodia will be a hotspot for climate change in the region. Average maximum daily temperatures in the wet season are projected to increase from between 1.7 to 5.3°C. Average dry season temperatures will also increase with a range of between 1.5 to 3.5°C.
Trends in precipitation are also expected to change over the coming decades. Seasonal variability in rainfall patterns will grow, resulting in wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons.

About: Biochar provides an innovative solution for GMS gender-responsive and climate-friendly agriculture. Biochar is the carbon rich product produced when biomass such as such as wood, manure or leaves, is heated with little or no available oxygen. It is added to soils to improve soil functions and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from biomass. Using biomass to produce biochar can release much less smoke that open burning by conventional practices that would otherwise naturally degrade to greenhouse gases.

About: The Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project is a hydropower generation facility planned for a location in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) within the lower Nam Ngiep Catchment approximately 145 kilometres (km) northeast of Vientiane and approximately 50 km north of Pakxan. The Nam Ngiep is a tributary to the Mekong River, joining the Mekong immediately upstream of Pakxan. Primary components of the Project are a concrete gravity dam, storage reservoir, main power station and re-regulation power station, and power regulation and transmission facilities.

About: The Mekong Basin with its complex monsoon climate is highly exposed to climate change. Average annual temperatures are expected to increase by 3-5°C by mid-century with average wet season precipitation increasing by 3-14% (USAID, 2013). For the floodplain areas of Cambodia and Viet Nam, increases in wet precipitation will be coupled with increased peak daily precipitation events and drier dry seasons, compounding water availability issues by making wet seasons wetter and dry seasons drier (USAID, 2013).

Prepared by ICEM, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and School of Environmental Science and Management (SchEM), the SESA presents a brief history of forest management in Nepal, forest types, and key environmental issues. It also outlines the reality of climate change vulnerability and impacts in Nepal, and highlights some of the important linkages, issues and potential trade-offs when considering strategic options to achieve REDD+.

Prepared by ICEM, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and School of Environmental Science and Management (SchEM), the ESMF provides a framework for effective management of environmental and social issues in implementing the REDD+ Strategy. It seeks to both enhance the environmental and social development benefits of REDD+ actions and projects and mitigate any adverse impacts.

About: Nepalese people are highly dependent on forests and forest products to fulfill energy demands and for timber for construction and maintenance of houses and buildings. The main reasons for the conversion of forest areas are encroachment for resettlement/agriculture, and acquisition of forest area for infrastructure development including road expansion.

About: Rapid urbanization is taking place in South East Asia, with cities in the region expanding five times faster than those in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Urban growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in the next 50-100 years is expected to be primarily experienced in small and medium-sized cities and peri-urban areas along existing and new growth corridors. Many of these areas are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The Mekong Delta is affected by upstream development – often in ways not fully understood and with uncertain impacts on natural, social and economic systems which sustain life and well being for millions of people in Vietnam. With expanding plans for major developments on the mainstream and its tributaries, those impacts are likely to become much more serious. Vietnam and its riparian neighbours do not have adequate scientific understanding for informed decision making on Mekong mainstream hydropower projects, especially on their downstream effects.

About: The Mekong River Basin faces a grave threat from climate change. Communities and governments must work together to develop and promulgate adaptation strategies that preserve the lives and livelihoods of some 60 million people. ICEM is working with DAI and SEA START as part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC) project to generate new data, new approaches and to spur adaptive change in the Mekong River Basin.

About: The Government of Nepals (GoN’s) National Adaptation Programme of Action for Climate Change (NAPA) outlines 43 adaptation measures grouped into nine priority areas or ‘profiles’. Stemming from the NAPA, a Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR) has been developed focusing on long-term interventions aimed at enhancing climate resilience in Nepal.
Mainstreaming climate change risk management in development is a technical assessment component of the SPCR. The expected outcome is that the GoN’s infrastructure development programs, policies and projects incorporate safeguards to address the effects of climate change.

About: The objective of the project in northern Vietnam is to demonstrate effective bio-engineered solutions which, where possible, provide ‘win-win’ outcomes for resilience of rural infrastructure to climate risk and opportunities for community livelihood enhancement.

About: The Danish government has supported environmental reform in Indonesia through an Environmental Support Programme since 2005. The second phase of cooperation ran from 2008 to 2012 and included a component on improving institutional capacity of public sector institutions, requiring the input of ICEM expertise.

About: This significant study is the first of its kind for the Mekong River and will provide the foundation for understanding fish migration dynamics to inform realistic and sustainable design of fish passes for proposed hydropower dams. The objective of the project is to assess the hydro?geomorphologic requirements of fish migrations using the Khone Falls as a natural laboratory.

About: This SEA served as an initial technical assessment of the long-term sustainability of master planning in the forestry sector and also provided the framework for training MARD Department of Forestry staff in the use and implementation of SEA.
The SEA undertook a rapid assessment of three Provincial Forest Protection and Development Plans (FPDPs), and provides guidance for the development of a National Forest Sector Master Plan and wider GoV decision-making in the forestry sector.